Intro to Chat Features

About computer to computer voice and video chat

Since sometimes reading "lol" doesn't deliver the same punch as actually hearing your friend laugh at your jokes, you can now use voice and video chat capabilities in your Google Chat properties (i.e Gmail, Google+). From within these services, you can have an actual conversation with someone (seriously, out loud), or even chat face to face over video chat.

Here's what you'll need to get started:

Download the Hangouts plugin, quit all open browser windows, and install the plug-in.

Sign in to Gmail, Google+, or your Chrome OS device.

If your friend doesn't have a camera next to their name in your chat list, you can invite them to download the plugin from the More menu in a chat window. Even if your friend doesn't have a video camera, you can still have a voice chat or a 1-way video chat.